SOUTH Sydney coach Michael Maguire has broken his silence on Kiwi Test star Issac Luke's demotion to the NSW Cup but was cryptic about whether the hooker had been axed for disciplinary reasons.

Speaking at the Rabbitohs Redfern headquarters this morning, Maguire said: "My biggest thing that I'll say about that is that the players, the staff here, we're building a very strong culture here based on performance on and off the park and Issac knows what he has to do to get back into the team."

Asked if that meant there were issues on and off the park, Maguire said: "As I said it's about performance on and off the park. Issac and I have a good relationship about what he needs to do and he understands that and he'll go away and work on what he needs to do to get back into the side.

Asked was Luke far away from being back in the side after being named to play for the North Sydney Bears on Sunday, Maguire said: "As I said I always look at each performance and if he goes and performs well then there's no reason why he can't be back next week.

Asked how Luke had accepted his demotion, Maguire said: "Very well. He understands what he needs to do. He's a very, very capable player and a big part of what we do here so he knows what he needs to do to get back into the team.

"If he goes about that this week, which he has been, he's been outstanding at training, I'm looking forward to seeing him play for Norths and then come back if the opportunity arises."

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